Dr Jon Daly (right) working in the lab for artificial insemination of sharks at the Dubai Aquarium.
Dubai - Sand tiger sharks, also known as grey nurse sharks, are listed as ecologically "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation.
Published: Thu 13 Aug 2015, 12:00 AM
Updated: Fri 14 Aug 2015, 4:03 AM
The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo in The Dubai Mall is launching a first-of-its kind assisted breeding programme to help save the endangered sand tiger shark from extinction.
Sand tiger sharks, also known as grey nurse sharks, are listed as ecologically "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation.
The population of sand tiger sharks is dwindling because they are hunted for their fins, considered a delicacy in parts of the world, and a slow, two-year reproductive cycle. While up to 12 embryos develop during the initial reproductive period, only one or two pups are born due to what is known as "uterine cannibalisation" - fetuses eating each other. That results in tiny population growth rates.
Currently, only 1,500 of the sharks are accounted for in the waters of the eastern coast of Australia, and researchers believe that the species could become extinct in the next three decades. Dubai Aquarium has the largest aquarium population of sand tiger sharks in the world.
"Historically, they've been treated fairly poorly. Back in the 1960s and 70s they were hunted because they look really fierce with all their teeth and people assumed they would be responsible for shark attacks," research consultant Dr Jon Daly said. "More recently they're under pressure from accidental capture by fishermen and entanglements."
The new conservation programme, launched in collaboration with the Sea Life Aquarium in Melbourne, Australia, is expected to sustain the shark's fragile population. Paul Hamilton, general director and curator of Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, explained the programme - which will use artificial insemination (AI) to breed the species in captivity - is the first of its kind in the world.
"Artificial insemination is not a new technology. It's been around for a while, but was always applied to more traditional species, like a lot of the land mammals," he said. "Where we're breaking new ground is that we're bringing shark AI to sharks. Essentially, this hasn't been worked on around the world."
Hamilton said the project will include collection of sperm from the shark, which will be kept frozen at 196 degrees Celsius below zero.
"You could put the shark sperm into liquid nitrogen for 100 years, re-activate it, bring it back to life, full-motility, and then inseminate a female shark," he said. "That means we can now transport the genetics of a shark anywhere in the world, and create an insurance bank of shark DNA that can be used in the future as well."
Researchers will use ultrasounds to monitor female sharks, and hormone analysis to assess their reproductive cycles, as well as artificial insemination processes and the potential live birth of pups.
A new programme for visitors, called the "Researcher" package, will give the public a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the shark lab. "Shark AI is a very public programme," Hamilton noted. "Essentially the public are going to be looking in the whole time."
In the future, Hamilton said, the Dubai Aquarium will include DNA of others species in the deep-freeze bank.
"As time goes by and as this project matures in Dubai, we're going to have genetics of all kinds of species in storage," he said. "It's our insurance policy."
bernd@khaleejtimes.com
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